How babies acquire language

Guests: Roberta Golinkoff and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek

We’ve known for a long time that children exposed to fewer words in their early years are at a disadvantage when they enter school. This finding has led to policies and programs focused on increasing word counts for low-income kids. But now researchers have found that it’s not just the quantity of words spoken to babies that help them develop language but the quality of the conversations. Marty talks with psychologists ROBERTA GOLINKOFF of the University of Delaware, and KATHY HIRSH-PASEK of Temple University about their research on how babies acquire language and how it can be used to help the development of disadvantaged kids.